Happy Thursday! Just in case freelance art and graphic design isn’t your thing, NASA recently opened up applications for its next class of astronauts. Be warned, though: According to the job listing, “extensive travel [is] required.”

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

• A Russian missile strike on Odesa, a southern Ukrainian port city on the Black Sea, killed five people on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian officials. The explosion occurred only a few hundred yards away from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in the city with the prime minister of Greece—a NATO state—and an accompanying delegation. Neither Zelensky, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, nor anyone else in their convoy was injured in the attack.
• A Houthi missile attack on a Barbados-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday killed three of the vessel’s crew members and injured at least four others. The strike marked the first loss of life since the Iranian-backed group in Yemen began targeting international commercial vessels in ostensible retaliation for the war in Gaza—there have been more than 60 attacks in the Red Sea since November. Undersea cable operators believe that a strike that sank a merchant ship in late February caused damage to internet and telecommunications cables in the waterway after the struck vessel dragged its anchor, causing outages.
• The House passed a $460 billion government spending package on Wednesday, bundling together the six appropriations bills covering the parts of the government that were set to run out of money on Friday and extending funding through the end of the fiscal year. Lawmakers are still negotiating the six remaining spending bills to fund the rest of the government—including the Department of Defense—which will otherwise shut down after March 22. Wednesday’s measure passed by a vote of 339 to 85; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said yesterday that the upper chamber will pass the package “with time to spare before Friday’s deadline.”
• The Justice Department on Wednesday charged Linwei Ding, a Chinese national who worked at Google, with stealing company trade secrets related to artificial intelligence (AI) in an alleged scheme to benefit China-based AI companies. “The Justice Department will not tolerate the theft of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies that could put our national security at risk,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement yesterday.
• Former Ambassador Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign on Wednesday morning after losing 14 of the 15 “Super Tuesday” primary states to former President Donald Trump. Haley didn’t endorse her opponent as she ended her campaign, saying instead that Trump would have to “earn the votes” of her supporters. “Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night,” Trump said in a Truth Social post responding to the announcement. Shortly after Haley’s announcement, outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed Trump. 
• Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota suspended his campaign for president on Wednesday and endorsed President Joe Biden’s reelection. “I invite, I encourage and will do everything humanly possible to ensure Joe Biden’s reelection this November,” Phillips said. 
• The Alabama State Legislature passed a bill Wednesday night providing civil and criminal protections for doctors and patients using in vitro fertilization (IVF), which was later signed into law by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey. Some IVF clinics in the state will reportedly open as soon as this week, following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that held that embryos were considered children under the state’s wrongful death law, leaving many worried about the future of the medical practice in the state.

Down to One

Despite long odds heading into Tuesday’s 15 primary contests, former Ambassador Nikki Haley’s campaign was reportedly in a “jubilant” mood throughout the day, with her team of happy warriors prepared for whatever might lie ahead. With no events scheduled for the night, however, it seemed as though the campaign expected the end of the road.

Following a disappointing showing on Super Tuesday, Haley suspended her campaign for president, confirming officially what has been apparent for months: Former President Donald Trump will, barring any unforeseen surprises, face off against President Joe Biden again in the 2024 presidential election. Trump now faces the task of consolidating Republican support ahead of the general election—but Biden also has his eye on Haley’s more moderate and Trump-skeptical voters.

In a speech at her campaign headquarters in South Carolina on Wednesday, Haley told supporters that she ended her run with “no regrets,” and congratulated Trump on his capture of the nomination. But notably, she did not endorse the former president. “It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party, and beyond it, who did not support him, and I hope he does that,” she said. “At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people. This is now his time for choosing.”